School of Nursing conducts first White Coat Ceremony

  Monday, November 7, 2016 2:00 AM
  News

Pittsburg, KS

This week, approximately 200 students in Pittsburg State University’s Irene Ransom Bradley School of Nursing took part in a ceremony that is designed to remind them that nursing is a noble profession that requires not only knowledge and technical expertise, but compassion, as well.

PSU held its first Gold-AACN White Coat Ceremony for Nursing in the Bicknell Family Center for the Arts’ Linda & Lee Scott Performance Hall, where many family members and friends gathered for this special event in each of the students' academic careers.

Medical schools have conducted white-coat ceremonies for years, but schools of nursing have just recently begun to adopt the practice. Similar “cloaking” ceremonies are often observed at schools of dentistry, pharmacy and physical therapy.

Barbara McClaskey, University Professor in the School of Nursing, said the ceremony is a tangible way to impress on students the importance of compassion and patient-centered care.

"I remember when I first put on a nursing uniform and the special feeling that gave me," McClaskey said. "I felt keenly the responsibility I had to my patients. In a similar way, this is a reminder of the great honor and privilege it is to become a member of the nursing profession."

McClaskey said the ceremony was made possible by a grant from the Arnold P. Gold Foundation to support the Gold-AACN White-Coat Ceremony for Nursing at Pittsburg State.

“We are one of 50 schools to be awarded the grant and PSU is the only school in Kansas that received the grant this year,” McClaskey said.

An important part of the ceremony was the oath that the students will took in front of the family members, university leaders and  peers at the event. All nurses at the event were invited to join the students in reciting the oath, which included a pledge to "Act in a compassionate and trustworthy manner in all aspects of my care and apply my knowledge, experience and skills to the best of my ability to assure optimal outcomes for my patients..."

Typically, white-coat ceremonies are intended for first-year students, but because this is the first year for such a ceremony at PSU, the university will recognize all of the approximately 200 students in the nursing program.

The Arnold P. Gold Foundation and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) jointly launched a program to encourage white-coat ceremonies at colleges of nursing nationwide in 2013.